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(FOPEA /IFEX) - On 24 January 2008, journalist Andrea San Esteban received a death threat as she walked down a street in Rosario, a city in the province of Santa Fe, in central Argentina. She had recently published articles in the newspaper "Rosario/12"on her investigation into a secret detention centre used by the most recent military dictatorship.

At 2:00 a.m. (local time) an individual wearing sunglasses approached San Esteban and said to her: "We'll kill you in your room." Hours later, the journalist saw the same individual watching her from a car. San Esteban and the Rosario journalists' union filed a joint complaint about the incident with a Rosario public prosecutor's office on 5 February. San Esteban works with the radio station LT8 and the newspaper "Rosario/12", among other Rosario-based media outlets.

San Esteban told FOPEA that the threat may be related to her investigation into what is thought to have been a secret detention centre used by the dictatorship, located near another torture centre called "La Calamita" in Granadero Baigorria, Santa Fe.

FOPEA, an organisation of 220 journalists from across Argentina, calls upon the authorities to safeguard the public's right to be informed about what occurred under the dictatorship. Argentinian human rights organizations have been on guard since, in late 2006, Jorge Julio López went missing in the city of La Plata after testifying against Miguel Etchecolatz, a member of the repressive military regime.

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